


Anniversary

by Zilliannie



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Transcendence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2018-04-25 00:02:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4939018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zilliannie/pseuds/Zilliannie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anyone can adjust to the apocalypse with enough practice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Year Anniversary

It's a year after the end of the world and Mabel Pines is talking to herself.

Because most everyone thinks she's been talking to herself, thinks her mourning has turned to chatter, and only now when she's in Gravity Falls again is it true.

Because Dipper was summoned somewhere far away and her Grunkles would worry if they knew. So she continues to talk to him with him despite everything. Right now he's letting her win at checkers. He's so thoughtful that way.

Mabel loves her family with the intensity of a forest fire.

It's a year after the end of the world and Stan Pines complains there's nothing good on television anymore. It's a year after the end of the world and Ford Pines has invented a device to allow you to watch television from any alternate timeline. The brothers watch an old Harry Claymore movie instead. 

In the kitchen Soos Ramirez and Wendy Corduroy make small talk: arguments about popular music, discussions about the metaphysical implications of ghosts, romantic entanglements. 

Wendy leans back in her chair. "Do you even wonder if your Mom might come back now that-" 

"No way, Dude," says Soos. "I've been a zombie. Not something I'd want to spread around."

They go back to arguing about pop songs.

It's a year after the end of the world and Pacifica Northwest has cut off all her hair to see if she'll turn into someone else. Her head feels lighter but her face is the same. She decides she’ll have Mabel do the next makeover.

In another part of the town Candy Chiu is live tweeting her dinner with a Kumiho. The Kumiho only tries to murder her a little.

Grenda Thompson shouts at her boyfriend over the phone about her day. Her enthusiasm is loud enough that Mayor Cutebiker gives up on privacy and eavesdrops to his hearts content. He really thinks those kids are going to make it.

It's a year after the end of the world and Dipper Pines is summoned by someone else's wheel. And now there's blood on the gloves he only just decided to start wearing. He could remove it, easily, but he watches it turn from bright red to dark brown against the white of them instead. He just saved twenty people. He just murdered a man.

There's a part of Dipper delighted to discover all the things that now exist inside him. There's a part of Dipper that will always be twelve and anxious about this fact. He goes home.

It's the end of the world and they're still here. Still fighting.

He should be there too.


	2. Two Year Anniversary

It’s two years since the end of the world and Mabel Pines has discovered the joys of summoning circles. **  
**

She makes them with glitter and draws her own designs. She carefully pricks her finger and puts the drops of blood right in the center in the shape of a smiley face. She’s wearing a sweater with a rastafarian orange stitched into it. When she moves her hair to the side you can see the words on the back: “MY BROTHER IS DE(y) MON”.

(“That doesn’t make any sense, Mabel.”)

She has gotten very good at waiting.

She’s also gotten very good at beating brains out with a baseball bat, but that is beside the point.

It’s the end of the world and no one has taken down their Halloween decorations from last year.

It’s the end of the world and in The Mystery Shack he loves Soos has accidentally asked his girlfriend to marry him.

The two of them had been rearranging the furniture for a new exhibit about wanding wereskeletons. Dudes now a days were harder to scare. They had to get creative. And Mr. Pines would be so bummed if the Mystery Shack were just an Explanation Factory. Had to keep ‘em guessing, right?

Melody had wrinkled her nose at the display. “Does the unicorn skeleton have to be front and center? I really like the mermonkey.”

Soos had shrugged. “I’m not married to it.”

“You’re not married to anyone,” said Melody. She elbowed him slightly in the ribs until he chuckled. “Unless you’ve got a Vegas story Mr. Pines hasn’t told me!”

“No way, Dude! If I were married to anybody it would be you!”

It was a big deal the second it was outloud. Big and real.

It’s the end of the world and Melody looks at him like it’s the first time. She can feel her face growing hot when he takes her hand.

“Yes,” says Melody.

At the other edge of the woods It’s the end of the world and Pacifica is trying to force her friends into a weaponized girl squad. Sadly Candy and Grenda are much more interested in real weapons. It will turn out the zombies can only be defeated by a three part harmony in any case.

It’s the end of the world and Rich Old Man McGucket has found his way onto the Stan-O-War III. He’s added a cannon that shoots fireballs.

The fire is staying a little too close to the boat. Ford is taking notes on all the surprise modifications. His sweater is also on fire.

Stan Pines is tired of being on fire to be honest. Surprisingly he's not gotten tired tired of honesty.

Rich Old Man McGucket has started cackling again. 

Old ConMan Stanley Pines and Weird Old Scientist Stanford Pines take him out for diner.

It’s the end of the world and Wendy is thinking about dropping out of school and running off to Portland. She knows she can survive. That’s the easy part. She’s more worried about everyone else surviving when she’s not in town.

It’s the end of the world and Dipper Pines has started calling himself Alcor. 

Alcor the Dreambender when he’s being fancy. His Grunkle Stan says it’s important to put on a show. It also puts the sort of people who want to summon Bill on edge- getting the wrong demon can put fear into any ambitious illuminati heart.

“OH NO,” Alcor tells them. “YOU SUMMONED THE BIGGER AND BETTER EDITION.”

He’s still working on the voice. He’s learned to take comfort in the knowledge that the dead aren’t going to blab if he experiments.

He used to try and keep track of the souls he devoured. Now they all bleed together into one streak of red.

_(They deserved it they deserved it he promises and he didn’t mean to and-)_

He can fly. There are spaces in every head carved out for him and the dreaming. He’s rescued children too. He’s not evil.

It’s better being Alcor. Alcor was never anything else but a demon. He can pretend it’s theatricality when Alcor smiles and not a real sense of joy when his teeth-

Sometimes he thinks it would be easier to be this way forever. Forever is what he has to worry about.

There’s a summoning circle in the woods that will bring him home again. Mabel has made it so he can be seen again. Touched. If something is really awful she’ll go with him. They can be a binary star system together. 

It’s the end of the world and they’ve all changed. 

It’s the end of the world and they love each other anyway.


	3. Three Year Anniversary

It’s three years since the end of the world and- what is that?

Mabel Pines takes a deep breath. It is not enough, she has to take another and another. In the corner Dipper Pines has forgotten how to reform himself into human shape. He is a mass of black bile, a thousand eyes, and glowing gold areas of energy leaking out from every curve.

“We’ve got brown hair, brobro. Remember?” she says finally. The mass, _Dipper it’s still Dipper_ , writhes in unreality. She smiles at him. “We’ve got brown hair and brown eyes.You’ve got a birthmark on your forehead.”  


As she speaks Dipper closes his many eyes and shifts to match her description. The skin is a little too waxy. The suit is a little too clean.

Dipper mimics her deep breath. “I think I just had a power up.”

“Awesome!” says Mabel. “But you made yourself waaay too tall.”  


Their conversation is punctuated by a small explosion in the subbasement. 

It’s the end of the world and Candy Chiu holds the fire extinguisher high. They have just prevented a being from another reality from mating with Dr. Pines face. 

She isn’t sure she likes Interning with Dr. Pines. He doesn’t seem to believe in the laws of physics or OSHA compliance. He seems to be taking the existence of aliens in stride. She’s not sure what he’ll write on her letter of recommendation to be an engineer. It is however a great chance to try out all her different ideas for weapons. The extinguisher she’s holding also doubles as a flame thrower.

It’s the end of the world and Stan Pines is sitting in the corner of the lab laughing at both of them. He appears to be rooting for the monster. When Dr. Pines finally pulls it from his head Stan punches it back through the newly made portal. They tease each other. The brothers are comfortable enough to joke again.

Candy can’t wait to see what happens next.

It’s the end of the world and Tad Strange has replaced his arm with a lobster claw. Whoopsyadaisy!

It’s the end of the world and Pacifica Northwest is braiding Old Man McGucket’s beard. She’s starting to think she likes helping people; likes taking care of them. If only she were any good at it- the braid turns into a tangle and gets all sorts of hair in his soup. He plays a song for her on his banjo.

_“Oh my darlin’,  
_

_Oh my darlin’,_

_Oh my darlin’, Pacifica~_

_She’s gainin’ her independence-_

_‘Cause she’s really terrifica~”_

Pacifica covers her mouth but still can’t stop the giggles.

It’s the end of the world and Grenda is kissing a vampire. He’s a little bitey. If kissing every kind of cute boy IN THE WORLD wasn’t on her bucket list she thinks she’d probably deck him. She thinks it over and decides to deck him anyway.  


It’s the end of the world and Wendy’s back in town. It looks smaller somehow, now that she’s been all around the country beating down nasties. She finds the people here seem kinder where before she’d found them boring. Most of her old crew has gone on to their next thing; Robbie and Tambry went off to different colleges, Lee and Nate wanted to be cops which still blows her mind, even Thompson is in some kind of SynthCountry Pop Group touring round Sacramento.

That’s okay. When it matters Wendy always knows where to find the beating heart of Gravity Falls.

She wanders to The Mystery Shack, ignores the ‘Closed for Honeymoon!!! :)’ sign on the door, puts her muddy feet up on the counter like she used to. “Can I get some service here?” Wendy shouts as a cool as she can. “How’s a girl supposed to get ripped off around here?”

“Wendy!” Mabel levitates down the stairs. Her hug feels like it comes with an extra unseen weight. “Dipper’s here too. He’s just a little tired out today."  


When Wendy closes her eyes she’s sure she can feel the beating of wings, smell the copper tang of blood, sense an eye looking at her. She ignores those instincts and high fives the air.

“It’s okay, dudes,” says Wendy. “It’s not the end of the world.”  


Perhaps she’s right.

We’re still here.


End file.
